Honda Reaches 500 Million Sales Milestone After 76 Years

ALPHARETTA, GA – It’s a milestone worth bragging about, and Honda did so today with a press release touting that it has built 500 million motorcycles since beginning mass production in Japan in 1949. The first model produced 76 years ago was the 1949 Dream D-Type (shown above).

Honda was founded in 1948. It wasn’t until 1963 that it began production of models outside of Japan with the opening of a factory in Belgium. Honda’s subsidiary in the United States launched on June 11, 1959. It wasn’t until Sept. 10, 1979 that Honda started making motorcycles in the U.S. at a plant in Marysville, OH. Production ended in Ohio in 2009.

Among other milestones in Honda’s history are reaching 100 million units in 1997, 200 million units in 2008, 300 million units in 2014, 400 million units in 2019 and, now, 500 million units.

As best as memory can recall, I’ve only owned one Honda over the years – a 1974 Honda CB750 Four in stunning metal-flake orange. Its looks were outstanding, but I never really bonded with it because of its weight and its stiff clutch lever.

Nonetheless, it was a memorable model and an iconic entry in Honda’s long history.